Between the Lines

8th March – 25th March 2017

Geoff & Jenny Morten

Between the Lines brings together the work of Geoff and Jenny Morten.

Jenny and Geoff Morten lived at La Selva Beach on the Monterey Bay in California for nearly ten years. This vast curving bay, stretches in a wide arc from Santa Cruz in the north to Monterey in the south. Pure white sand beaches link the two with the mouth of the Pajaro River cutting a swathe through the centre. An area of natural beauty, it is also a land of contrasts where surfing culture meets one of the most fertile agricultural spaces in California. Known locally as the “fruit basket” of America, vast fields of soft fruits such as strawberries and loganberries are grown there, rotating in winter with sprouts, corn and artichokes. Huge areas are covered by flowers for cutting, covering the landscape with miles of multicoloured stripes.

“Although visually stunning, one did not have to look hard to see that the whole infrastructure of the area would collapse were it not for the labour of hundreds of Mexican workers, seen bent over in the fields every day”.

The exhibition highlights the dilemma of two artists faced with a land of contrasts. In the creation of these works both Geoff and Jenny were exploring the ambiguity of their own position as immigrants in California, as well as the beauty of their surroundings.